CHARCOAL.-SHEEP-STELLS.- DESTROYING INSECTS. 
171 
quite into the ground, to hold the animal. Into the 
ring of this pin, the chain may be hooked with a 
spring similar to that of a chain-halter. By means 
of such a contrivance the position of the cows may 
be changed as often as may be necessary until the 
whole pasture, or field, is consumed, after the man¬ 
ner practised by Mr. Dumbrell. By the time a 
large pasture is fed over those portions first cropped, 
will, in general, be sufficiently grown to commence 
unew. 
Charcoal Beneficial to Peach-Trees. —Mr. 
Mason Cleveland, of Hartford, Ct., wishes to make 
public an experiment made upon a peach-tree by 
an acquaintance of his, the truth of which he says 
can be depended upon beyond all question—at any 
rate the experiment is a cheap one, and is worth 
trying. He had a young peach-tree, the leaves of, 
w r hich were turning yellow, and showing other 
symptoms of decay. My friend, calling to mind the 
qualities of charcoal, removed the turf and soil, 
near the roots, in a circle of about two feet in di¬ 
ameter around the tree, and filled the space to a 
level with the surrounding soil, with fine pieces 
and dust of charcoal, which remained in the bottom 
of a box. The result was surprising. The tree 
put on fine healthy leaves instead of the yellow 
ones, and all other signs of sickness departed in a 
wonderfully short space of time. The tree again 
commenced growing, and remained perfectly healthy 
until some years after, when it was destroyed by 
the weight of its crop of fruit assisted by a strong 
wind, ft is worthy of note that its fruit, both in 
quality and size, was as much improved as the ap¬ 
pearance of the tree itself. 
SHEEP-STELLS. 
In the management of sheep, in a climate like 
ours, one of the most important things to be attend¬ 
ed to, is a proper shelter from cold storms, and the 
intense heat of the sun. As close confinement is 
particularly injurious to these animals, by nature of 
a roving disposition, and exceedingly fond of liber¬ 
ty, it is of paramount importance to the sheep- 
farmer not to force them into shelter, whether they 
wish it or not, but to place within their reach a 
suitable covert into which they can at all times re¬ 
sort, and this too of their own accord.. If a natu¬ 
ral shelter cannot be found, such as a dense forest 
or thicket of evergreen trees or shrubs, a deep dell 
or ravine, or large, high, insulated rocks, recourse 
must be had to art. This may be done, by forming 
Stells, a term literally signifying a covert or shel¬ 
ter, and is no more nor less than a high circular en¬ 
closure^, or screen, formed by planting trees, or by 
building a high stone-wall, or a mound of earth. 
Any of these modes will answer the desired end; 
but the latter, in most places, will be more readily 
made and more economical, both in the original 
cost, and in subsequent repairs. The spaces in¬ 
closed should be on dry ground, and of a size pro¬ 
portionate to the number of sheep that are kept. 
As a general rule, each stell should contain from 
half an acre to an acre of land, and should be in¬ 
creased in number according to the size of the flock. 
If made of stone, the base of the walls should be 
four feet thick, the top two feet thick, and the 
height not less than six feet If formed of earth, 
the base may be six feet in width, the top eighteen 
inches thick, and six feet in height, with the sides, 
firmly covered with tough edge-sodding. They 
may also be formed by planting circular clumps or 
hedges of American holly, arbor-vit?e, hemlock- 
spruce, or white pine, which, in a few years, will 
afford an excellent shelter, and will prove highly 
useful, and ornamental to a pastoral country. 
With regard to the form of 
a stell, perhaps a circular en¬ 
closure with an opening to¬ 
wards the south, is as simple 
and economical as any, as de¬ 
noted by the adjoining figure. 
It should be so constructed 
as to carry off the water Fig. 33. 
caused by rain and snows, which may be done by 
digging a trench round the outside, with holes 
through the wall or mound, communicating with the 
inside. But what would afford more effectual pro¬ 
tection, on all occasions, is what may be called a 
double stell , constructed in the form of the letter S, 
running from east to west, as represented by Fig. 34 
It is obvious that in a stell of this description, 
let the wind blow from whatever quarter it may, 
one of the recesses, or enclosures, will always be 
protected from the storm. If two walls, or mounds, 
were constructed fifteen or twenty feet apart, on 
the boundaries of the letter, and the spaces between 
them thickly planted with evergreens, in twenty or 
thirty years, a security of shelter and shade would 
be afforded to the cattle and sheep on the prairie 
farms of the West and elsewhere, that would en¬ 
dure for centuries to come. This is no visionary 
scheme, but has been advantageously and success¬ 
fully practised in Scotland and other parts of Europe 
for more than thirty years. 
DIRECTIONS FOR DESTROYING INSECTS. 
We are indebted to General Johnson, of Long 
Island, for the following directions for destroying 
caterpillars and other noxious insects, infesting 
trees, by M. Taten, who was rewarded for his dis¬ 
covery by the different Societies of Paris, about one 
hundred years ago :— 
Take of common black or bar-soap, of the best 
quality 11 lbs.; flour of sulphur, 11; mushrooms 
of any kind, 2 lbs.; and rain or river-water, 15 gal¬ 
lons. Pour one-half of the water .into a barrel of 
convenient size, and stir in the soap until it becomes 
dissolved; and then add the mushrooms after they 
have been slightly bruised. Next tie up the sul¬ 
phur in a coarse open cloth, with a stone, or other 
weight sufficiently heavy to cause it to sink, and 
boil it in the other half of the water, for the space 
of twenty minutes. While boiling, stir the liquid 
freely and squeeze the bag of sulphur tho¬ 
roughly, before you take it out. As soon as the 
water is taken off the fire, pour it into the barrel 
with the other ingredients, with which it must be 
